ABSTRACT
The life and development of the academic system in recent years do not precisely parallel those of the protest movement, just as the protest movement is not confined to the academic world. Despite the criticisms of technological civilization, and the efforts to withdraw from it, there is no general rejection of scientific and technical knowledge, nor even of the professional activity of teachers and research workers. The multiversity idea gives far more importance to the academic system. The American academic system's preferred image of itself is one that projects an increasing independence, from the time of its secularization up to the successful achievement of professionalization. The more professionalized the academic system, the greater the importance of its role in social production; and the more predominant its theoretical role, the deeper is its consequent involvement in class conflict. These three attributes are inseparable from one another.
